OVERVIEW

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."

--Scott Adams

"There is no perfect time to write. There is only now."

--Barbara Kingsolver

"The most important part in filmmaking is played by the writers. We must do everything in our power to keep them from finding out."

--Irving Thalberg, studio executive

"Entertainment is not a shallow gift. Sometimes, it's the only part of the day we can remember with gratitude."

--Richard LaGravenese, screenwriter

The Hollywood Symposium

is an organization of movie industry professionals committed to finding, developing, and bringing to the screen the best original feature motion picture stories being written today.

Our year 2004 Sixth Annual Screenwriting
Contest Winners Have Been Announced.
All contestants receive the numerical master judging sheet for their script.

Our year 2003 Screenplay Contest Winners and Finalists can be found on the Winners '03 page!

A truth frequently overlooked by major film studio executives is that making good movies starts with locating and nurturing good screenwriters.

The current film business system of agent and studio "gatekeepers" prevents a large number of well-written screenplays from ever being seen by the people who really count in moviemaking.

Through our annual screenplay contest, web site symposium, script development program, and winner cross-promotion with our co-sponsor InkTip.com and other outlets--the Hollywood Symposium is providing an avenue of writer support and direct access to both mainstream and independent motion picture production. We are becoming a force for the discovery of writing talent wherever in the world that talent may be found. We wish to bring recognition to screenwriters, and we wish to locate viable new material for production.

Members of the Symposium make movies and conduct business at the very heart of the motion picture industry. Symposium Executive Director Eric Edson is a veteran film writer, TV writer/producer and director, an active member of the Writers' Guild of America, with five produced feature and TV films, and over twenty movie development and TV projects to his credit. Eric has recently been appointed a professor of screenwriting at California State University, Northridge, and he also teaches screenwriting and film story analysis through the renown UCLA Extension Writers' Program.

In addition to Eric, our Board of Directors includes such accomplished individuals as internationally renown lecturer and Hollywood script consultant Michael Hauge, author of the critically acclaimed book Writing Screenplays That Sell, and director/producer Dianne Haak, who has made 36 films including adaptations of award winning books, television specials, documentaries, and the much-loved feature motion picture Secrets In The Attic. Dianne is also an adjunct professor of television and film production at UCLA.

Symposium Board members will answer questions here in our web page open discussion room on screenwriting issues, film directing and production topics, as well as questions about launching film industry careers. And check out the insightful articles on script writing by two of America's top teachers on the subject, Michael Hauge and Eric Edson.

THE HOLLYWOOD SYMPOSIUM ANNUAL SCREENPLAY CONTEST. Awards: FIRST PLACE $3,000, Final Draft� script writing software, promotion from The Hollywood Symposium�, promotion placement with our co-sponsor Inktip (Writers' Script Network), a one year subscription to MovieBytes� "Who's Buying What," and a commemorative certificate. SECOND PLACE $500, promotion from The Hollywood Symposium�, promotion placement with our co-sponsor Writers' Script Network�, a one year subscription to MovieBytes� "Who's Buying What," and a commemorative certificate. THIRD PLACE $200, promotion from The Hollywood Symposium�, promotion placement with our co-sponsor Writers' Script Network�, a one year subscription to MovieBytes� "Who's Buying What," and a commemorative certificate.
ALL entrants receive the numerical master judging sheet for their script.
     www.inktip.com.
     www.moviebytes.com.
     www.screenplaymastery.com.

These cash honorariums ARE NOT ACQUISITION FEES. In addition to these awards, sale or option offers for scripts, and/or offers of representation may be made directly to contest participants, but of course, this cannot be guaranteed. It is guaranteed that competition results, along with story premise and contact information for all winning scripts, will be presented to agents, managers, producers, and U.S. film production companies. Press releases announcing winners are issued. Commemorative certificates are given.

ALL SUBMITTING WRITERS will receive the numerical judging summary form for their screenplay.

Our own production interest in submitted scripts will be negotiated under the governing terms of a full Writers' Guild of America contract.

Every script submitted to the competition is read and judged by knowledgeable film professionals. Finalists are read by Hollywood notables who are members of one or more Hollywood professional organizations such as The Directors' Guild of America, The Writers' Guild of America, The Producers' Guild of America, or, are college professors who teach screenwriting.

The Hollywood Symposium wishes to encourage the best efforts of screenwriters all over the world. Screenplay craft considerations under specific scrutiny in our contest are pinpointed on the TIPS page, and don't miss Michael Hauge's sage words on screenwriting. We look forward to reading your movie.

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"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind."

--Rudyard Kipling

"All writing is about the quest for understanding who your characters are, and once you understand who they are, you just start to speak as them."

--James Cameron, screenwriter & director